The John Warner (SSN 785): One of a Kind
Last year, about the christening of an attack submarine named in honor of John W. Warner, who graduated from Washington and Lee University in 1949. On Saturday, Aug. 1, it will be commissioned at Norfolk Naval Station. One of the newest Virginia-class submarines, it is the only one of its type to be named after a person.
Warner, who served Virginia for 30 years as a U.S. senator, is a World War II Navy veteran and served in the Marines during the Korean War. He became undersecretary of the Navy in 1969 and took the top post in 1972. He began his first of five terms in the U.S. Senate in 1978, and when he retired in 2009 was the second-longest-serving senator from Virginia in Senate history.
The John Warner (SSN 785) will be the 12th Virginia-class attack submarine in the fleet, according to a Navy news release. Warner’s wife, Jeanne, is the sponsor of the ship, which will be based in Norfolk, Virginia.
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